Perfect Worlds
by sudoku
Summary: Life has been too perfect for Doctor Stephen Strange. Too perfect to be true (vague summary and tags to avoid spoilers). Warning : horror theme, ambiguous ending.
1. Perfect Family

-Unbetaed and not a native speaker so please kindly point out any mistakes  
-Warning: Language, spoilers for Endgame

* * *

As soon as Stephen opened the front door of his house, he was greeted by Donna.

"Stephen, please tell Victor that he is an idiot. Tomato is not a fruit."

Victor stuck his tongue out at Donna. "Of course, you will ask for his answer. You're his favorite sibling. Tomato definitely is a fruit. If Stephen were not biased, he would agree with me."

Beverly walked out of the kitchen. "Children, please behave." She shook her head and smiled. "You're in your twenties so not really children anymore. Let Stephen rest. He must be super tired. How was your day Stephen?"

Stephen went to hug his mom. He forgot that his family was visiting him for one week. To be fair, his day had been hectic as he was the only doctor working in his clinic. Claire was taking her well-earned leave and Andy just had a new baby.

He went to sit down on the couch. Beverly, Donna, and Victor followed suit. The latter two still made funny faces at each other. "The usual. Mom, you don't need to cook. We can eat out. I can afford it."

"Non sense. Your father won't have any of the outside full of artificial flavor meals. Besides, I haven't cooked your favorite meals for a while."

"Where is Dad?"

"He felt too cooped up in this house. He said how could people enjoy city life in such a small house. Yeah, I know this house is super expensive and considered big by this city's standard. And it's located in the middle in the city. But you know how your dad is. He went to take a walk to the nearby garden." The _nearby_ garden was of course five miles away but it was nothing for Eugene.

As if on cue, Eugene walked in. "I know you are always talking about me when I'm away. Stephen, you should move back to Nebraska. You can buy a house five times this size. That girl who fancied you, what's her name, Francesca…"

"Francine," Donna added helpfully.

"That's the one. She always asks about you whenever I walk pass her house. It's about time for your to marry and settle down. You are not getting any younger. Your parents long for grandchildren but none of you married yet."

Stephen who had been sipping tea choked on his drink at the mention of grandchildren. Donna thumped his back. She said, "Dad, please not this again. I'm sure Stephen has someone else in mind here. After all, he is a single, tall, smart, good looking, successful doctor. Who wouldn't want to marry him? Stephen, you need to introduce her to us and I will be honored to be your bridesmaid."

"Not if he has any sense," Victor added as he stuck his tongue at Donna again.

Stephen smiled. His siblings never seem to grow up. His father always demanded something although he meant well. His mother just accepted all their quirks and be there for them. He had never been so happy with all his family around him.

Suddenly, he was jolted out of his mind. That was the problem. He was never this happy before with all his family, not for a long time. Something was wrong.

* * *

"Doctor Strange, please come on stage to receive your award."

There were some people saying "Speech!" while some said, "Please don't encourage him. He will never stop."

Stephen smiled as he went on stage. They had no idea what was going to hit them.

He smiled as he received his award and went to grab the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time. I understand you want to return to eating caviars and canapes rather than hearing my boring speech. I would like to thank Metro-General hospital to allow me to do my own research whenever I'm not doing any operation." There were some loud claps from the Metro-General tables. "Most importantly, I would like to thank my wife, Doctor Christine Palmer. Without her, I won't be able to focus on my research. She is a super amazing woman and I believe she secretly has superpowers. How do you explain how she could work as a full time ER doctor and still manage to take care of our daughter Sofia? She manages all of them and still has time to kick my butt if I slack off. Pardon my language." There were some loud cheers. "I dedicate this award to Christine and all the amazing women out there who might not get the recognition they deserve even though they are the real heroes." This time everybody cheered. Some people even stood up and clapped.

He grinned widely as he walked down the stage. When he reached his table, he bowed down and kissed Christine. He heard some cat calls and rolled his eyes.

He was never feel so accomplished in this life. He had a successful career, a loving wife, and a beautiful daughter. He was great in and outside operating theaters. His new techniques saved thousands of lives across the world. Everything went right.

He felt cold sweat started dripping from his forehead. His life had never been smooth. Not for a long time. Something was wrong.

* * *

Notes:

-There is only one or two more chapters left for this story.


	2. Perfect Team(s)

-Unbetaed and not a native speaker so please kindly point out any mistakes  
-Warning: Language

* * *

Stephen was exhausted. He also stank as he was covered in the content of aliens' equivalent of intestines. He longed for a long shower in Kamar-Taj. As soon as he stepped through a portal from Machu Picchu, he was greeted by anxious Mordo.

"Did you contain the threat? Did you send them back to the Huqyeir Dimension?" He did a quick onceover to see whether Strange was harmed.

Stephen rolled his eyes. "Yes, and yes. Your confidence in me is astounding. I wasn't born yesterday."

"You just started to train with us six months ago. It's only the second time you were sent on duty alone. Go to have your shower. The Ancient One wants to have supper with you and you can report to her then."

"It's nice to see you too, Karl."

Mordo shook his head. "Just go to have your shower."

Stephen was about to open a portal to his room to get his belongings when Wong appeared in the court yard. "Strange, 23 books are missing. I know you're the culprit." Stephen quickly stepped into his room. "Come back here. I know where you live."

He heard Mordo said, "Just let him be, Wong. At least for now. She is waiting for his report."

"But we can't just let him do whatever he wants. Just because she likes him, doesn't mean he can go scot-free. If he were to be the next Sorcerer Sup-" Mordo closed the portal before Stephen heard the rest of their conversation.

So they were considering him as the next Sorcerer Supreme. The old him would like the idea of it very much but the new him thought he still hadn't learned enough. Besides, there were more experienced and qualified people like Master Hamir or Mordo. He was just glad he had the chance to learn and expand his world's (no, not world's, multiverse's) view. He couldn't imagine if he were thrown into world ending life and death situations without proper training and guidance. What would he become?

At least, this time the Ancient One were alive. Mordo was here supporting him.

Hang on a minute. This time? Where did this thought come from? Was this not reality?

* * *

They were having a barbecue party at Tony's Lake House. Wong and Stephen brought _Hunka Hulka Burning Fudge_. Banner looked delighted as he pointed both wizards the location of their drinks. Tony just rolled his eyes and continued roasting their food. Morgan helped controlling the heat by instructing Friday.

Wong left Stephen alone by as he said he needed stronger alcohol and went to talk with Thor and Loki. Valkyrie was chugging a bottle of Asgardian mead and she threw one toward Wong's direction which he caught easily. (Traitor and show off.) She toasted Wong.

Stephen sighed. Even Wong could make friends easier than him. He sipped his wine and looked around. Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes were having a heated debate about something while Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff chuckled as they observed their friends' antics. Pepper Potts was chatting amicably with Hope and Janet Van Dyne. Scott Lang, Hank Pym (Stephen was surprised to see him but perhaps he had buried the old hatchet), and Bruce Banner were talking about Pym particles. Peter Quill and Peter Parker were arguing about movies or songs or pop cultures (Stephen didn't understand half of what they were saying, something about memes). Gamora were having threw knives competition with the rest of the Guardians, except for Groot who was playing his console game. Judging from Nebula's sour face, it seemed Gamora was winning. To his surprise, Carol Danvers was holding hands with Colonel James Rhodes while throwing stones into the lake. Carol could throw much further but the Colonel was just smiling as he looked at Ms Danvers. Wanda Maximoff and Vision were sitting on the grass with the Bartons having picnics.

Stephen felt like an outsider. He started to walk toward the cabin to get some rest. Somebody griped his shoulder as he was about to take his third step. "Going somewhere, Merlin?"

Of course it was Stark. He turned and smirked. "You might think you were joking but Merlin was real and he was the fifth Sorcerer Supreme."

Tony's rounded eyes were comical. "For real?"

"Yup." He popped the p as he turned toward the cabin.

"Hey, asshole, you could not just leave me like that without all the juicy details."

"Stark, I'm not your personal historian. There're books at Kamar-Taj about the previous Sorcerer Supremes if you're interested."

"And you're an idiot. What happened to calling me Tony? You might be the best Magician Supreme according to your master but you're oblivious to social interactions. I invited you because I'd like to know you better. Perhaps we could be friends. Not BFF because that spot is for Rhodey but I'll put you above Barton and even Steve in my friend's list if you continue to play hard to get."

"Thanks, Tony." Steve chimed in. It must be the super soldier super hearing but Stephen didn't even notice _when_ he approached. Perhaps he also had some stealth mode. Captain America smiled. "I agree with Tony. Not about the ranking of friends but about we'd like to know you better. Not only Tony but the rest of the Avengers appreciated what you had done to ensure our win against Thanos and that was a complete win without any significant loss on our part. You are my favorite candidate Avenger."

"Speak for yourself. Mine would be Spider-Man. For once I agree with Cap about one thing. We'd like to know you better."

Stephen swallowed a lump in his throat. He didn't expect anything after he had done his part to ensure their winning without any life loss. He was already glad that everybody was happy and getting on with their lives. That was the most important part. His goal and duties had been fulfilled.

Never in his wildest dream, he expected to be accepted by the others—to be treated as a friend.

His heart rate suddenly picked up. That was the keyword – _dream_. He didn't remember the beginning of each world he encountered, it was as if he just woke up in the middle of them. He also didn't remember how he shifted from one world to the world. It just happened. It was as if they were dreams interwoven with each other. His were dreams based on his hopes.

He had a good guess who the culprit was.

As soon as he realized that, every Avengers and heroes disappeared. He was left alone in a white empty space. There was a loud clapping behind him.

* * *

Notes:

-Thanks for the people who gave comments based only the first chapter as it was not so clear the direction of this story. I guess it's clear now who the culprit is.  
-I wrote this story as a birthday present to myself. I guess I should actually just prompt people but I've no one to prompt.


	3. Nightmare

-Unbetaed and non native speaker so please kindly point out any mistakes  
-Warning: creepy scenes and behaviors, self inflicting pain, brief appearance of insects and snakes, untested theories and procedures (don't try them at home), and bad jokes.

* * *

Stephen turned around to see a man mounting a black horned horse which hovered over nothing. In the blink of an eye, the man and the horse had materialized right in front of him. The man's skin was chalk-white like it had seen the sun in the 21th century, his long untamed hair was green, and he wore a green bodysuit with ragged cape.

Stephen had heard of this Fear Lord. He chided himself for his lack of foresight. He should've been more prepared. He must've fallen asleep doing research again. He quickly put up his mental shield. A little bit too late as the guy must've read his mind but it was better than never. At least this time his next move wouldn't be predicted so easily.

He rolled his eyes. "Nightmare, I presume. To what do I owe the displeasure?"

The man made a mock bow. "In the flesh". He gestured at himself. "Well, metaphorically speaking. Stephen Strange. You…"

"Doctor. Doctor Stephen Strange."

"_Doctor_ Stephen Strange." Nightmare made the word doctor sounded like something that stuck under his shoe. "You don't give yourself enough credit. Of course, I've always wanted to meet the future Sorcerer Supreme."

"You didn't _meet_ me. You trapped me in your nightmare schemes. By the way, your name is a little on the nose." He needed to keep talking while thinking his way out of this. Wherever was _this_. He presumed _here_ was Nightmare's realm. He recalled reading that the way out of this was by waking up. It was easier said done. If only he could wake himself by realizing he was in a dream but no such luck.

"Say the man who insists to be called _Doctor_. I didn't trap you in nightmares. I gave you wonderful dreams."

"Unachievable dreams are worse than nightmares. People try to chase the impossible and will never wake up." He tried to pinch himself but he was still stuck here.

"But you saw through the charades. You snapped right out of it after the fourth one. Well done. You're worthy of the Sorcerer Supreme title."

"Thanks, although I didn't ask for your approval. Since I've passed your tests, can I go home now? As the future Sorcerer Supreme, I've a lot of duties to attend to."

"You're most welcome." He dismounted from his horse and slung his hand over Stephen's shoulder. Stephen scrunched his forehead in distaste. He didn't like to be touched especially by strangers. He definitely didn't want to be touched by Nightmare.

As if sensing his displeasure, Nightmare released his hold and circled around him instead. "Are the good bits too much? Don't skim off the details. Some feedback is required for future projects." He clicked his fingers and stood still right in front of Stephen invading his personal space. Stephen stepped back to put some distance between them. "I knew it. I made them too perfect. Next time I should not make them too perfect. A little rough patch here and there. Perhaps you should be estranged from Victor. Christine should only tolerate you. Mordo should still leave. Tony should still die."

Stephen started to fell cold sweats dripping from his back. How could he have cold sweat in a dream?

"And to answer your question. Only in your dreams." Nightmare chuckled at his own joke. "But no, what would I tell my fellow Fear Lords if I let you go? I've reputation to maintain, nightmares to feed on, and realms to conquer. I won't allow a little insect such as yourself to stop me."

"I'm afraid you will say such things." Stephen used Bolts of Balthakk to strike at Nightmare and his steed. The Bolts phased through them without any effect.

He wiggled his index finger at the doctor. "Tchk thck thck. Stephen. I thought you knew better. This is my realm. You can't hurt me here. I've tried playing nice. Giving you the carrot rather than the stick. But since you insisted, I'll feed on your worst nightmares instead. They're more delicious and nutritious anyway. Oh, so many traumas and insecurities to choose from. You're so generous. It's like a weekend buffet for me." He clicked his fingers.

A dark ground started to materialize underneath them.

"Good luck trudging through your nightmares while I assaulted your physical comatose body. Otherwise, it'll be such a waste." Nightmare and his horse disappeared.

The ground started to crack. Hands appeared from the cracks and tried to pull him down. Spiders, snakes, and centipedes started to crawl out of the holes and climbed his body. Stephen cursed the lack of Cloak of Levitation in this realm as he jumped around to avoid those hands. He also tried his best to throw the insects and snakes away from his body.

Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. The Cloak was not present here. He could feel the physical manifestation of the hands, and unfortunately the insects and snakes. So even though these were all possibly only in his mind, they were tangible. He was also tangible. It was likely that _here_ was also a physical realm and not only in his mind. He needed to do research more if, no, not if, when he got back.

He had read that intense physical pain could wake somebody up. He hoped that theory was right. Here was the time to test before he became a literal insect food or perhaps he would only dream being eaten by the snakes and insects. He wouldn't stick around to find out which theory was right. He used a spell that produced excruciating pain. Once glowing blue lights appeared in both hands, he gritted his teeth as he used his right hand to attack his left hand and vice versa. He screamed until his throat fell raw.

A few minutes later he opened his eyes. He didn't even realize he had closed his eyes. He found out that he was hunching over his desk in his study in his Sanctum. He felt a crick in his neck. His clothes were crumpled and drenched in cold sweat. Sophie hovered over him and slapped his face repeatedly. Apparently, she had tried to wake him up numerous times.

He sat up and Sophie quickly wrapped herself around him. "I'm fine. Well, despite the terrible pain in my hands." He incanted a spell to heal his hands. "I'm much better now. I'm back here. Don't worry."

As soon as he said that, Nightmare's words came back to haunt him. "Next time I should not make them too perfect. A little rough patch here and there."

He started to doubt himself.

He looked at the bowl of half-eaten ramen noodle in front of him. He did eat ramen noodle last night because he couldn't afford a proper meal as his money ran out.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in."

Wong opened the door and walked in. "You fell asleep studying again, didn't you? What did I say about proper meal and sleep? You're the future Sorcerer Supreme. It's very unbecoming of you to eat ramen noodle. Now go to your bed and sleep properly."

"Nice to see you too, Wong. I would rather not going back to sleep again for now. I just had the displeasure of meeting Nightmare."

Wong's face moved a few micrometers to show his sympathy so he must be super worried. "Oh, Stephen. I forgot to tell you about him. I should've told you how to protect yourself from him. He always attacks new sorcerers. I'm surprised he only attacked you _now_. Follow me. Here is a simple spell you can use." Wong led him to the library on the right.

Stephen was still not sure whether this was real or a dream designed by Nightmare to trap him. Sophie seemed real. Wong behaved like his usual. He even wanted to teach a counter spell against Nightmare. Unless Nightmare had read his mind and custom made this dream after the first few runs failed. In that case, the spell Wong taught would actually a fake spell taught by Nightmare. Or perhaps Nightmare planted doubts in his mind so he would still suffer in his waking hours wondering whether he was still trapped in nightmares.

He would not live his life like this. He would assume this was his real life unless some new clues pointed otherwise. If this were still a dream, he would try his best to wake himself up in the future. After all, he had a lot of duties to perform. The Cloak read his mind and squeezed his shoulders.

Wong turned back and asked, "Are you coming?"

Stephen forced himself to smile. "Sure." He needed to be strong.

* * *

Notes:

-Nightmare being creepy and likes to touch Stephen is unfortunately canon in the comic. I think most of his rogue gallery which were mostly monsters and non human creatures do.  
-I love ramen noodle, has nothing against them. But they're indeed not healthy.  
-The dreams at the first two chapters were very blatant which were on purpose. I hope this chapter explained the reason well enough. Well, please let me know whether they worked or if there was anything to improve upon.  
-Sorry about the ambiguous ending. It's October so it's my fill for Spooktober. It's a coincidence since I didn't plant to finish this in October.


End file.
